At a Glance
A selective arts-and-humanities high school where zero suspensions and near-universal trust signal an unusually calm culture
Best suited for
Families looking for a humanities- or arts-oriented college-prep program who want their teen in a calm, well-led school community and who are comfortable navigating a competitive admissions process.
Overall Rating
Rating = average of 4-year graduation, English Regents college-ready and Regents completion · DOE 2025 report
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- Zero suspensions across the entire school — a genuinely unusual result for a public high school with this level of economic need.
- A 14.3 percent offer rate with 665 applicants for 92 seats, making this one of the harder-to-enter programs in the district.
- An arts-and-letters curriculum that stacks AP and humanities courses with studio art, drama, dance, literary magazine, and a mural club.
- Survey data where every trust metric from parents and teachers lands between 94 and 98 percent — the kind of consistency that signals strong internal alignment.
- An unusually broad athletics roster with 21 different sports including cricket, fencing, and double dutch alongside the usual offerings.
Things to consider
- Admissions are selective — families should plan a backup, since only about 1 in 7 applicants receives an offer.
- The economic need index of 71.3 percent and a 20 percent IEP share mean resources can be stretched; families who want extensive one-on-one support should ask how that's prioritized.
- Average class size of 24.5 is right at the district average, not smaller — so don't expect intimate cohorts by default.
- AP and humanities are emphasized but specific state proficiency numbers aren't in this data, so a deeper academic picture requires looking at the school's full School Quality Report.
- With 422 students in a building that's not a neighborhood zoned school, most families commute in — factor that into the morning routine.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 28
District 28 in Queens offers a wide spread of options, and Hillside Arts & Letters stands out for stacking a college-prep academic identity with an exceptional climate profile and selective entry. The peer schools cited in nearby data are elementary programs, so the most relevant comparisons are other Queens screened high schools rather than district neighbors.
Academics
The school's academic identity centers on AP courses and a humanities-forward curriculum, supported by a program richness score of 90 out of 100 — meaning students can stack academics with arts, world languages, and a deep extracurricular menu. Specific state proficiency figures were not available in this data pull, so a clean comparison to the district averages of roughly 63 percent in ELA and math isn't possible here, but the AP pathway signals clear college-prep intent. Spanish coursework and structured ELL support round out the academic picture.
Culture
The climate data is the headline: zero total suspensions across the school, with parent satisfaction at 94 percent and parent-teacher trust at 97 percent — both above district averages. Teacher-to-teacher collegial trust sits at 98 percent, and 95 percent of teachers say they trust the principal, which is the kind of internal coherence that usually shows up in calm hallways. The school-specific attendance rate wasn't included in this data, but the combination of trust scores and no suspensions paints a respectful, well-led day-to-day environment for teens.
Community
Students here are 38 percent Black, 36 percent Hispanic, and 19 percent Asian, with a diversity index of 71 percent and an economic need index of 71.3 percent — well above the citywide norm. Twenty percent of students have IEPs, and there's structured ELL support, so this is a school that serves a wide range of learners rather than weeding them out. The surrounding Jamaica Hills-Briarwood community is itself fairly diverse and middle-income, with a median household income just under $84,000 and 44 percent of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher.
Neighborhood
Jamaice Hills-Briarwood is a dense, middle-income Queens neighborhood where just under a quarter of households have children and 44 percent of adults hold a bachelor's degree or more, suggesting a community that takes education seriously. Homeownership sits at about 40 percent with a median home value in the low $600,000s, and the poverty rate is around 13 percent — squarely in the middle of the Queens range. Families with school-age kids are part of the everyday fabric here.
Most families take the F train: 169 St is about an 8-minute walk and Parsons Blvd is about 11 minutes; Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer on the E, J, and Z is roughly 18 minutes on foot.
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 170 families responded (43% rate)
Programs & Activities
Admissions Demand
All students have the opportunity to take AP courses. All juniors have the opportunity to take CUNY College Now courses for college credit. Seniors are offered the opportunity to take St. John's University approved courses and receive a transcript from the university. Incoming ninth grade students choose an art or music track. Music students are able to choose: band, chorus or piano. Students have the opportunity to take four years of art/music and graduate with an Arts Endorsed Diploma.
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
High school (9th grade)
High school is one citywide application, made in 8th grade. Hillside Arts & Letters Academy admits through one program, and each one has its own admissions method:
- Hillside Arts & Letters AcademyEd. Opt.
High school application
- Opened
- Tue, Oct 6
- Closes
- Fri, Dec 4
- Offers
- Wed, Mar 3
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the high school application, in 8th grade.
- 2Educational Option programs fill in equal shares across three reading levels, half by the school's ranking and half by lottery.
- 3Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Hillside Arts & Letters Academy a good school?
- On Motley, Hillside Arts & Letters Academy earns an overall rating of 62/100 — the average of the school's four-year graduation rate, the share of its students scoring college-ready (70+) on the English Regents, and its Regents completion rate, shown out of 100.
- What grades does Hillside Arts & Letters Academy serve?
- Hillside Arts & Letters Academy serves grades 9 to 12.
- How do students get into Hillside Arts & Letters Academy?
- Hillside Arts & Letters Academy uses the Educational Option (Ed-Opt) method, ranking applicants across performance levels so seats go to a mix of abilities.
- Is Hillside Arts & Letters Academy public, charter, or private?
- Hillside Arts & Letters Academy is a public school in NYC Community School District 28.
- What neighborhood is Hillside Arts & Letters Academy in?
- Hillside Arts & Letters Academy is in Jamaica Hills-Briarwood, Queens.